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Lawmakers Ban Facial Recognition From Police Bodycams

If Gov. Gavin Newsom gives it his ok, California will become the largest state in the union to ban facial recognition technology from law enforcement’s body-worn cameras.

AB 1215, the Body Camera Accountability Act, passed the Legislature Thursday and is now headed to the governor.

Assemblymember Phil Ting co-sponsored the legislation with the ACLU. It does not cover stationary devices used by law enforcement that employ biometric surveillance, nor does it apply to any federal authorities.

The proliferation of facial recognition software has raised a number of privacy concerns. San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban use of the technology in May. Oakland soon followed. Law enforcement groups have said it eliminates a critical crime-fighting tool.